Builders in Burford

Lynch Brother Homes builds extensions, converts lofts and garages, and renovates houses in Burford and the villages along the Windrush. We build new homes on single plots as well. Henry and John Lynch run the firm from our base at Cumnor, and one of them looks after every job from the first site visit to the day we hand over.

Burford asks more of a builder than most Oxfordshire towns. The whole town lies inside the Cotswolds National Landscape, around 260 of its buildings are listed, and the old centre is a conservation area. Between them, those three decide what you can build without an application, what the walls and roof have to be made of, and how long the paperwork takes.

What you can build without planning permission in Burford

Permitted development rights let you do some work to a house without a planning application. In Burford they’re cut back, because national rules treat a National Landscape (the law still says Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) the same way as a conservation area. The West Oxfordshire Local Plan 2031 puts all of Burford inside it, so the tighter limits apply on the High Street and at the edge of town alike.

For a house that isn’t listed, it works out like this:

The conservation area adds a couple of controls of its own. You have to give the council six weeks’ notice before felling or pruning most trees, which matters if one stands where the extension would go, and knocking down an outbuilding or a boundary wall can need permission too.

West Oxfordshire District Council decides the applications, judging them against the Local Plan and its Design Guide. Before settling on a design, look up your address on the Burford conservation area map and the National Heritage List. Our permitted development guide covers the full size limits.

Stone, slate and what’s behind the front wall

Burford is built of Cotswold limestone, and its stone has travelled. Taynton, a mile and a half north-west, supplied Windsor Castle and Blenheim Palace, and Christopher Kempster, a Burford mason born in 1627, sold stone from his quarry at Upton to rebuild London after the Great Fire.

For an extension, that comes down to matching. New walling needs the colour, texture and course height of the old, and it goes up in lime mortar, because cement is harder than the stone and traps damp in the wall. Many roofs are Cotswold stone slate, laid in courses that get smaller towards the ridge, and new work has to follow the same pattern. We find reclaimed slate or new stone to suit each house.

Not everything in Burford is as old as it looks. Historians working on the Victoria County History found that a good deal of the town was remodelled in the 1920s and 1930s to look more like a medieval wool town. That’s one reason we survey before we price any structural work, and why our programmes allow for what turns up once a wall is opened.

The Windrush and flood risk

On 20 July 2007 the Windrush flooded part of Burford. The council’s flood report found the water came from the river alone, and that the A361 bridge acted as a bottleneck and backed it up. Thirteen properties applied for flood grants afterwards, and the report says the real number affected may have been higher. The houses hit were near the river, on both banks.

If your house is in the lower town, we look it up on the flood map for planning before we draw anything. A house in Flood Zone 2 or 3 needs a flood risk assessment to go in with the application, and that can fix the floor level of the extension or call for flood-resilient materials on the ground floor.

Our building work in Burford

House extensions

A single-storey rear extension is the one kind that can skip a planning application here. Our guide prices are £30,000 to £50,000 for most single-storey extensions, £45,000 to £70,000 for a kitchen extension of about 20 m² (the kitchen is extra), and from roughly £55,000 for two storeys, sometimes over £90,000. Stone walls and a stone slate roof push a Burford job towards the top of those ranges. The extension cost guide and our house extensions page have more.

Loft conversions

With dormers outside permitted development, a rooflight conversion is the simplest route in Burford. At roughly £25,000 to £45,000, it’s often possible without an application if the house isn’t listed. A dormer (£45,000 to £75,000) or a hip-to-gable (£50,000 to £80,000) needs planning permission here, so the planning drawings are part of our design work. Stair layouts, fire escape rules and party wall notices are explained on our loft conversions page, and the 2026 prices are in the loft cost guide.

Renovating older houses

Older houses often need several jobs done together: rewiring, new heating, repairs to timbers and stonework, and a better layout. We arrange the wiring and plumbing, and J & H Lynch, another Lynch Group company, does the plastering, including breathable clay plaster for old solid walls. The house renovation page shows how we run these jobs.

Kitchens and bathrooms

We fit kitchens and bathrooms and do the building work around them, from taking out a wall to rerouting the waste pipes. In a listed house, work like removing a wall needs listed building consent, so we build the application into the programme from the start.

Garages, render and new builds

Most integral garage conversions come in between £10,000 and £25,000. J & H Lynch also does rendering and re-rendering, though in Burford new render or cladding needs planning permission first. For a new house on your own plot, see our new builds page.

Around Burford

We work in the villages as well: Fulbrook across the river, Taynton, Swinbrook, Asthall, Westwell and Shilton, which has its own neighbourhood plan. West Oxfordshire handles the planning for all of them. A few miles west, though, Great Barrington, Little Barrington and Windrush are in Gloucestershire, where Cotswold District Council decides instead.

Nearby towns with their own pages: Witney, Carterton, Bampton and Chipping Norton. For the wider area, see builders in the Cotswolds.

Who you’ll deal with

Henry Lynch is the managing director and John Lynch looks after operations. Both trained as carpenters, and the Lynch family has built in Oxfordshire since 1984. We’re TrustMark registered and FMB members, and the 2025 Oxfordshire Business Awards named Henry Young Business Person of the Year. Here’s why our accreditations matter.

Burford building questions

Can I put a dormer on my house in Burford without planning permission?

No. Burford is in the Cotswolds National Landscape, where roof enlargements such as dormers and hip-to-gable conversions aren’t permitted development, even at the back of the house. Rooflights in the existing roof slope often are, as long as the house isn’t listed. West Oxfordshire District Council handles the application.

How big can a rear extension be without planning permission in Burford?

Single-storey, up to 3m deep on a semi or terrace or 4m on a detached house, and no more than 4m high, in materials that look like the existing house. The larger 6m and 8m allowance through prior approval doesn’t apply in the National Landscape, and listed houses need consent first.

My house in Burford is listed. What needs consent?

Anything that affects its character as a listed building, inside or out, needs listed building consent. That can mean taking out a wall, changing windows or replacing the roof covering. Doing the work without consent is a criminal offence. Burford has around 260 listed buildings; the National Heritage List shows whether yours is one.

Does building in Cotswold stone cost more?

Yes. Stone walling in lime mortar and a stone slate roof cost more than brick and concrete tile. Our general guide puts a single-storey extension at £30,000 to £50,000 and two storeys from about £55,000, and a Burford job in matching stone usually lands towards the top. We price each one from a survey.

Has Burford flooded, and could my house be at risk?

It flooded on 20 July 2007, when the River Windrush rose and the A361 bridge held the water back. Houses near the river on both banks were affected. Look the address up on the government’s flood map for planning. In Flood Zone 2 or 3, a planning application must include a flood risk assessment.

Planning work in Burford?

The number is 01865 420063, or you can message us from our contact page. If you include the address, we’ll check whether the house is listed and where it sits on the flood map before we visit.